Meditate to Relieve Holiday Stress

by Maggie Vink (Subscribe to Maggie Vink's posts)
Nov 28th 2008 3:00PM

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the holiday season is in full swing. All the hustle and bustle of the season can start to feel quite stressful. To help keep your stress level in check, try dedicating some time each day to meditate. There's no need to say "oohhmm" and sit in the lotus position. You can lower your stress level with a few easy steps:

Quiet place. Find a spot in your home or outside that's quiet and removed from other distractions.
Music. Play some quiet, mellow music that helps you relax.
Deep, full breathing. Breathe deeply and concentrate on your breathing.
Focus. Your mind may wander, but as it does just refocus on your breathing -- this isn't a time to sort through your thoughts, this is a time to recenter yourself and clear your mind of the daily stressors.

Take 10 minutes each day to meditate and you'll see your stress levels reduce. Remember, exercising, eating healthfully, and getting proper amounts of sleep will also help you manage stress.

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Comments (2)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Cory Cook 11-28-2008 @ 11:18PM

Good Article,

Stress can cause very harmful results to the body. One negative thing that it causes is secretion of the hormone cortisol. Having high levels of cortisol for long periods of time can be harmful for many reasons, such as.

-Suppressed thyroid function
-Blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia
-Decreased bone density
-Decrease in muscle tissue
-Higher blood pressure
-Lowers Immune system Abilities

And that was just some of the bad effects of prolonged exposure to cortisol. It has been proven that meditation daily can drastically decrease the levels of cortisol in the body. Sounds like a good idea :)

Working out is a good stress release too.
Here is some free info on working out:
http://www.hardgainermusclebuilding.com
http://www.hardgainermusclebuilding.com/articles.php

Happy holidays everyone,
~Cory